Tuesday, 22 January 2013

Baby Jesus In Manger

Source(Google.com.pk)Baby Jesus in manger Biography

After
listening to many Christmas songs, presentations and stories about the
birth of Christ, I am convinced that the church has come up with a third
account on the birth of Jesus Christ. The other two accounts are found
in the gospels of St. Luke and Matthew. Other books in the New Testament
just allude or mention the birth of Christ implicitly in their records.
As we celebrate Christmas, we must understand the Bible ourselves so
as to grasp the true account of Christ’s birth. In order to understand
the birth of Christ in a better way, one must start by reading the
account according to St. Luke (Luke 2:1-40), and then merge it with the
account as in Matthew.
The account by St. Luke does not mention the wise men; it talks of
the shepherds only (Luke 2:8-20). Immediately Christ was born in
Bethlehem, when Joseph and Mary went for census, the shepherds on the
nearby fields were alerted by an angel on the good tidings about the
birth of a king in the town of David. They were to find the baby wrapped
in cloths and lying in a manger (2:12, NIV). They narrated to Mary and
Joseph about the things they were told about the child by the angels and
they left.
Immediately after this visit, Christ is circumcised in the eighth day
and named Jesus; the name given to him before he was conceived. After
the circumcision, time passed and it came a time when according to the
Law of Moses, Jesus had to be presented as the first born for
consecration. Joseph and Mary took the child to Jerusalem, from
Bethlehem where Simeon presented the child to the temple.
The account of Matthew picks from there (Matthew 2:1-23) and starts
as “after Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of king
Herod, magi (wise men) from the east came to Jerusalem…” (2:1, NIV). The
wise men were led by a star and enquired from King Herod about the
newly born king. In turn, Herod enquired from chief priests about the
birth of Christ and was advised that he was to be born in Bethlehem.
King Herod releases the wise men and requests them to come back after
finding where Jesus was, so that he could go and worship him.
When they left, they were led by a star and “on coming to the house,
they saw the child with his mother Mary and they bowed down and
worshipped him… (2:11a, NIV) and presented him with gifts they had
carried.
In this case, although Herod send them to Bethlehem, it is not clear
whether the star that reappeared to them led them to Bethlehem or some
other place within Jerusalem. With the Luke account in mind, it was most
likely that Jesus was still in Jerusalem, where he was presented to the
temple by his parents, on their way to back to Nazareth.
Immediately the wise men left, Joseph was shown in a dream to take
the child to Egypt. Time passed and Herod would realize that he was
duped by the wise men when they never returned. Out of fury, he ordered
all the children in Bethlehem and its surrounding from 2 years and below
to be killed “…in accordance with the time he had learnt from the wise
men” (2:16b, NIV). This is an indication that Herod ordered the murder
approximately two years from the birth of Christ.
One clear thing in these accounts is that the wise men did not visit
Christ, immediately he was born; they visited him after he was
circumcised, consecrated to the lord and probably outside Bethlehem.
This is different from what I was taught in Sunday school, and what I
usually teach my Sunday school kids where the birth of Christ is
presented consistently without regard to time factor. Even the pictures
on the birth of Christ in a manger are accompanied by the wise men and
shepherds, Mary and Joseph all looking at baby Jesus. Although this way
the story appears consistent and easier to understand for children, the
storyline is doctored to avoid inconsistencies. Whoever decided to
doctor the story, whether the church or theologians has created a third
account of the birth of Christ and has succeeded in making the world
believe it.
As we celebrate Christmas, let us read the Bible and grasp the truth.
However, remember what matters is not which account is true or
accurate, what matters is the understanding that Christ’s birth, calls
for our love for one another. Christmas is a time to care and share what
we have, show compassion, forgiveness and ensure we are ambassadors of
peace, love and thus we will be united in the body of Christ. I wish all
my readers Merry Christmas and a prosperous 2013.